Employers Affected By Change in New Hampshire Wage Law
Aug 31, 2017New Hampshire employers who have routinely paid employees on a bi-weekly basis may have been operating outside of state law and unaware that they were doing so.
Prior to July 11, 2017, under a section of the New Hampshire wage law that not all employers understood, New Hampshire employers were required to pay employees within eight days after the expiration of the week in which work was performed, unless they received prior permission from the New Hampshire Department of Labor to pay less frequently. Thus an employer that wished to pay its employees on a bi-weekly basis would be required (in the absence of prior NHDOL permission) to have payday occur on the first day after the expiration of the prior two-week pay period. Because of the practicalities of administering payroll, this timing was difficult to fulfill, and so many employers running a bi-weekly payroll would be forced to seek NHDOL approval in order to be in full compliance with law.
As of July 11, this has changed. The pertinent language of Section 275:43 of the New Hampshire law, which regulates payroll frequency, now states simply that employers must pay employees “at regular intervals not to exceed 14 days ….” This means that employers using a regular bi-weekly payroll no longer need to seek NHDOL approval for that practice. If, however, the employer desires to pay less frequently than bi-weekly, NHDOL permission will still need to be obtained.
About the Author: Steve Winer https://orr-reno.com/our-people/steven-l-winer/
